Chain-reel.



D. D. DAWLEY.

CHAIN REEL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27.1915.

1,225,933, Patented May15,1917.

vwwtoz tin DANIEL D. OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNGR TO PAYTON & KELLEY COMPANY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION F RHODE ISLAND.

CHAIN-REEL.

Application filed March 27, 1915.

To (all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, DANIEL D. DAwLnY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chain- Reels, of which the following is a specificatlOIl.

This invention relates to an improved reel of the class more particularly designed for winding and housing a chain or cord which may be connected to eye glasses or other articles and the object of this invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive reel of practical and durable construction in which is mounted a spring actuated rotatable drum for winding the chain or other flexible cord thereon the same being provided with extremely simple and effective locking means for temporarily securing the drum in the desired position against rotation.

4 It is found in practice that a reel having a winding drum controlled in its action by centrifugal gripping pawls of the curtain roller type, will not operate when held in some positions. Then again the delicate mechanism is quite expensive to manufacture and is easily rendered inoperative.

In order to obviate these difficulties and provide a reel that can be locked while lying in any position and one which entirely does away with pawls and all movin parts except the drum, I have formed a notch in the casing and one or more slots in a flange of the drum into both of which the chain is adapted to be drawn to form a locking bar to be caught and bound between opposite edges of the notch and slot to prevent further winding action of the drum, the latter being readily released by withdrawing the chain from the notch in the drum flange.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims:

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the reel casing with a slot formed in its periphery and extending over into its side wall.

Fig. 2 is a central sectional edge view of the reel.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of thearrow and showing the chain as pinched between the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1917.

Serial No. 17,517.

sid walls of the notch and slot to hold the drum against rotation.

Fig. 4l is a perspective view partly in section showing a portion of the drum and easing with the chain in position and bound so between the edge walls of the notch and slot.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the back plate of the casing with the spring retaining fingers.

Referring to the drawings designates the reel casing which is preferably formed in a cup shape having a peripheral wall 11 and a front wall 12. A hub 13 is formed on the inner face of the front wall which secures in position the drum 15 presently described and. also to support the central pin 14. on which the drum is designed to rotate.

One of the essential features in the construction of this casing is that a slot 16 is formed through the periphery of the casing, which slot also extends over the edge and down a short distance as at 17 into the front wall 12 of said casing. The drum 15 on which the chain or cord 18 is wound is formed of two plates 19 and 20, the front plate being a complete disl: and the back plate having its middle portion bent inward as at 21 forming the barrel or body portion of the drum onto which the chain is wound. Fingers 22 are formed on the edge of this barrel portion to extend through corresponding eyes in the front plate to be bent down upon its face, whereby the two plates are bound together in spaced apart relation. The middle portion of the drum is thus formed hollow, into which hollow portion the operating spring 23 is coiled. One end 2 1 of this spring is fastened to one of the inwardly turned angers 27 on the back plate 28 whereby the act-ion of the spring causes the drum to rotate in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 8.

Another feature of this construction is the provision of a plurality of notches 29 cut into the periphery of the front plate 20 of the drum any of which notches may be brought into position to register with the portion 17 of the slot in the front wall 12 of the casing.

The chain of flexible cord 18 is provided 10 with a ring or eye 30 which is adapted to be connected to the eye-glass or other device which is drawn against the outer surface of the casing by the spring when the chain is wound. tightly upon. the drum. When it is desired to pull out a certain portion of the chain for the purpose of permitting the glasses to be located on the face of the wearer it is necessary to lock this chain in extended position to prevent the reel from exerting a tension upon the same, therefore to obtain this locked effect in the simplest and most practical manner, I simply carry that portion of the chain next to the reel laterally or to one side of a central lateral plane through the reel forward over the edge of the front flange then by slackening the same slightly the drum under action of its spring is rotated backward until one of the notches 29 comes into position to register with the portion 17 of the slot in the front plate and the chain while being held in this forward position naturally drops into the notch and the slot and a further winding movement of the drum causes the chain to be bound and jammed between the ends 31 of the notch and the edge 82 of the slot thereby causing the chain to act as a locking bolt or wedge between the fixed and the movable walls to effectually prevent further rotating movement of the drum. The chain is permitted to lie in this position while the glasses are in position on the face, and when it is desired to remove the glasses from the face and reel up the chain, it is only necessary to raise the chain from the position a shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to position b in said figure which withdraws the chain from the notch in the drum leaving the latter free to rotate and wind the chain upon it.

The back plate or cover 28 may be connected to the casing in any suitable manner, but I have shown the two members as connected together by rolling the edge 33 of one over the edge of the other, and I have also shown an attaching pin 3e pivotally mounted at 35 on the back plate, which plate also is provided with a catch member 36, whereby the pin is adapted to secure the reel on the clothing of the wearer.

I have shown and described a fine chain as being wound upon the reel drum but tl e wordchain-is intended to include any flexible cord, band or member adapted to be wound upon the drum.

1 claim:

1. A reel comprising a drum, a casing for said drum being provided with a lateral slot on its periphery and a connecting radial slot in its side wall, a chain leading from the drum out through said slot, means in the drum cooperating with said slot in the side wall of the casing for gripping the chain and temporarily preventing rotation of the drum, said gripping action being effected by the moving of the chain from the lateral into the radial slot.

2. A reel comprising a spring actuated winding drum. having a flange provided with a notch in its periphery, a casing for said drum having a slotted wall through which the chain wound on the drum may be led, said drum being adapted to be locked by causing the notch and slot to register and then moving the chain into engagement with both.

3. A reel comprising a casing having a slot in its walls, a spring actuated winding drum rotatably mounted in said casing, a flange on the drum having a peripheral notch adapted to register with said slot,

whereby the flexible member on the drum in leading out through said slot may be moved into engagement with both the slot and notch to lock the drum against rotation.

4:. A reel eomprisinga easing having a slot in its peripheral wall and extending over into its side wall, a spring actuated winding drum rotatably mounted in said casing and having a flange provided with one or more notches in its periphery any of which may be caused to register with the slot in the side wall portion of the casin whereby a lateral movement of the flexiblemembers on the drum in leading out through said slot may cause the flexible member to enter both the notch and slot to lock the drum against rotation and said member being readily withdrawn to release the drum.

5. A reel comprising a casing having one of its members formed in a cup shape with. a peripheral flange and a front wall, the same being provided with a slot in said flange and extending over into its front plate, a drum rotatably mounted in said casing, a spirally formed actuating spring in said drum, one of the flanges of said drum having one or more notches adapted to register with said slot, a chain wound on the drum leading out through said slot and adapted to be positioned therein to also enter said notch to lock the drum against rotation, and a plate for closing the back of said casing.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL D. DAWLEY.

lVitnesses I-IowAnD E. BARLO\V, A. F. lViAOREADY.

Gepies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. (7. 

